Tags
The Tiling
Painting and Story by Lehan Winifred Ramsay
He is putting down the tiles
at the side of the house.
He has a bad back.
When he can’t stand any longer
He crawls.
The Tiling
10 Saturday Sep 2011
Posted in Lehan Winifred Ramsay
10 Saturday Sep 2011
Posted in Lehan Winifred Ramsay
Tags
The Tiling
Painting and Story by Lehan Winifred Ramsay
He is putting down the tiles
at the side of the house.
He has a bad back.
When he can’t stand any longer
He crawls.
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
I am stunned in the loveliest way by the effect on me of the painting. Reading the attached poetry (there being no other descriptor for the story) my day is filled with the images you have given to me, Lehan. I can think of no greater gift than to have this experience on this day. The voice is strong and informative. The painting and the words are lyrical beauty.
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The Bette Midler/Mick Jagger clip is just fantastic… what as giggle!
🙂
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Oops! Musta hit the ‘back’ button twice! Sorry Lehan, this was supposed to go on Warrigal’s music blog!
🙂
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Nothin’ like a bloke in a bluie about the place.
Love the picture, as usual; and the economy and truth of the writing is very impressive.
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Viagra?
Is the duck sooooooo old?
Just got here. Didn’t know “here” existed till now.
Oi! Don’t forget the lemon meat. The roughage, I mean. Squeeze the lemon into your sauce -whatever that might be- and then, and then, and then… you stuff the duck with the lemon meat!
I reckon ducks need lemon and/or lime, rather than orange and pepper, rather than sugar but either way (plus another 1000 or so) is fine.
For some magician effect, cook in the oven with alfoil and when you pull it out, undo the foil, throw lots of sugar on it and then blow torch it to caramelise the sugar… it’s just something different!
Lehan, the painting and the poem are, as per usual, splendid!
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It was Hung’s fault !
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I think that when I have my exhibition at Hardware Gallery I’ll have to get you guys to cater.
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You won’t have to prepare any food. Just stand around and talk about it.
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I’ll paint a few conversation starters for you.
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Classic!
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Hung, any luck with the duck and stuffing.
Hope you did not stuff it up.
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Hung could I suggest to serve the duck with omlys.
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To Hung (again apologies to Lehan for this total disgression) – VL is right and other comments too because none of us stuff a duck. You will get a lot of pure duck fat coming out as the duck cooks. A sweet/fruity sauce is the way to go. Let us know how you fare in the end.
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I can empathise with the tiler, back breaking, bloody thankless task. I have done some tiling, at my previous house, and have done a reasonable job, but, of all the trades one could even try to emulate, with the exemption of concreting, tiling certainly is the most physically aging!
No recipes from this quarter. Have made a bloody mess of the kitchen this p.m. so will make no recommendations!
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Sorta fits here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtOdtMYXrFg
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A nice story and painting Lehan… even if the other piglets have used it as an excuse for a cookery lesson… Must say though… I’m really not looking forward to getting old… however, on the bright side, at least I don’t have to lay tiles…
🙂
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Apologies, Lehan, we seem to have converted your short storied painting, into a cooking class.
But to keep perpetrating: Hung, you could always blow up it’s a*se; it’s one of the ways that Chinese Chefs separate the skin for “Peking Duck”.
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Yeah, Hung… half a stick of gelignite should be plenty!
😉
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Beautiful. Short. Sweet.
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The Tiler: What does he do when he’s finished crawling? Go to sleep on the job? Iv’e got some garden pavers for him to sleep on. If he’ll lay them 1st. 😉
@ Hung: orange sauce is simple to do and goes well with duck. If’n you want to add a zing (or get someone pissed), add as much Grand Mariner to the sauce as you think you should.
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Girls, love Grand Mariner 😉
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I have a lime, is that any good?
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Well it’s good for being a lime.
I chose orange cos it’s simple. And I figured you could easily get them and a minuture Grand Mariner.
There are more complicated versions,; like penguin sauce with a telegraph pole jus 😉
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Lime instead of an orange = not a good idea. To the orange juice add something sweet as well as the real duck juices. To mashed tinned cherries add a little red wine, teaspoon of sugar as well as the duck juices – cook to reduce and then add a bit more liquid (water even) – you just ought to taste as you go and only add a little of anything at a time or else you will bugger it up. I don’t have time to dig out a recipe – I make mine up based sometimes on something I have eaten elsewhere over the years. You could make a demi-glace but you need a few spare hours for that !!! A lot of this depends on whether you have bought a whole duck or are using just, say, the breasts – and whether you like your duck on the rare side or well cooked. I like it to fall off the bone.
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Viv, I agree about Poh’s tits 🙂
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Duck, roasted, maybe some herbs in the cavity with lime leaves and sliced garlic. The skin coated in olive oil and salt and pepper. Tutu is a sauce girl. Roasted meat with sauce and roasted veggies is her favourite. I like to cook her something special.
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Yes. When I do chickens I like the meat to fall off the bone, so tender, beautiful.
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Hmmm, that sounds ‘interesting’. I don’t think it needs any stuffing myself but if you want it herby I’d recommend thyme. Once you have drained off the duck fat and have the juices there I think I would just go for a regular gravy – use plain wholemeal flour for thickening and go from there. Good luck. (I gather you don’t have tinned cherries in the pantry or muscat for that matter) – perhaps bung in some whole cloves of garlic while the duck is cooking and use the soft insides later for mashing into the gravy/sauce. Again good luck.
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Grand Marnier of course… http://www.google.com.au/webhp?rlz=1C1CHNU_enAU375&sourceid=chrome-instant&ie=UTF-8&ion=1&nord=1#q=grand+marnier&hl=en&rlz=1C1CHNU_enAU375&nord=1&site=webhp&prmd=ivns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=mABrTv_UPMeXiAeqhYTJBA&sqi=2&ved=0CGkQrQQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=e623d9f82e3caf66&ion=1&biw=1280&bih=703
NOT Mariner
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Oh… and I though you meant he should add a fresh Lord Nelson… He was a Grand Mariner… and you know, “All the nice girls love a sailor!”
😉
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Not sure where you’d get a fresh one though…
;|
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Or Odysseus. The grandest mariner of the lot!
Stuffed a lot of ducks in his time, too.
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Lehan, H has said on our pages how lovely your writing is however I’ve got to say how lovely your typing is. I mean well spaced and left justified you have done an outstanding job. You succinct use of fullstops is simply remarkable. Your placing of upper case letters is superb and the truncation of the first sentence so the over all effect was one of symmetry.[Tongue firmly planted]
I just wanted to see if I could write more than a sentence in reply because the words of your poem were few but very powerful. Now I am working in Aged Care I realise enjoy life while you can.
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Hey that’s very nice of you Hung. I very much like the occasional type effect, but nobody much seems to take notice of that kind of thing.
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A pleasure Lehan and by the way the painting is just great 🙂
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Excellent.
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Vivienne, I cooking the ex a duck, do you have any good sauces for duck?
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There is duck with honey/muscat sauce in my Autumn food column. No time to give details of other idea but cherry sauce is ideal as well as VL’s suggested orange.
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Thanks mate
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What about you Voice? I cannot imagine, you, the woman of steel being so quite on this one? 🙂
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I’ll let the whole woman of steel bit go thru to the keeper, who will have to be good as it’s over my head.
Well Hung, I’ve only ever done the orange sauce thing. Did a simple version in France a few times following a recipe from my French beginners cookbook, and it was always well received. There is an English translation online.
http://www.phaidon.com.au/agenda/food/articles/2010/april/23/duck-a-lorange/
Haven’t cooked duck in Australia, it’s less common here although I’ve noticed that Woolies has been selling it lately. Is that what got you onto it?
Basically, if it’s for tonight and you haven’t decided yet, you’re pretty close to stuffed!
So I’d google duck lime or duck red wine (assuming you have a red) and use the recipe with the ingredients you have to hand. More important to have the table properly set, clean glasses, mess hidden, and dinner at a reasonable hour than to have the optimum recipe.
Julian’s right about girls and Grand Marnier though.
Bon appétit.
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Good advice thanks champ. It’s for tomorrow night. Yes I got it from Woolies. It’s just down the road and I haven’t done a duck since I got rid of the Weber which did them perfectly. The Ex (Tutu) loves stuffing. I recently stuffed a chook with apple, nuts, leek, onion and herbs and it was sensational. I have to use rice flakes instead of breadcrumbs but it works just the same. Cheers Ace. :).
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Oh darn and oil and salt and pepper
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If you did an orange sauce another time, you could just follow the idea of stuffing with chopped orange. Simple.
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Balanced with say some garlic or so?
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The thing is HOO, that one often serves a sweetish sauce with duck. Fruity is good. It doesn’t really need garlic, because the meat is fragrantly gamy.
Any of the suggestions are OK. It doesnt really benifiot from stuffing either. Don’t forget that there is a lot of fat, as the duck like swimming around. Often in cold water. At least in France, and China, where they eat trillions of them. You could use a stuffing to soak up the fat, or just put an orange in the cavity 😉
I used to hang them in the window, back in England. The breeze dries it out and enough fat dripped out to fill a small tray (well saucer actually I suppose. Hang it up for about 8 hours……. 🙂
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Perhaps some warfarin, grated and sautéed in a white white sauce with cracked black pepper
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Actually, it’s a nuisance having the email notice on. I was just typing an email to my brother (the one who lives in France), and I saw your post. I can’t get away from the pub PA.
He,s coming over for the rugby finals and will visit Australia for 4 days in October.
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Forget warfarin. Try Viagra 😉
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Thanks VL
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However Tutu might float?
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Let us know how you went with the duck, Hung… and what you finally decided to do with it… Did I tell you I once had a nasty experience with a duck once… must tell you all that story one of these days… when the mood is right…
😉
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